The application generally relates to Model Predictive Control (MPC) applications. The application relates more specifically to implementing real-time model predictive control on a chip for portable and System-on-a-Chip (SoC) devices using a microprocessor in parallel with an iterative matrix processor.
System-on-a-Chip (SoC) relates to the packaging of all the necessary components, e.g., microprocessors, memory, etc., for a “system” onto a single substrate or chip. Some areas where SoC devices might be used include medicine and bioengineering (prosthetics, genetics and small molecule sensors, drug delivery), avionics and aerospace (microscale actuators and sensors, smart reconfigurable geometry wings and blades, microgyroscopes), automotive systems and transportation (accelerometers), microchemical systems and microreactors for in situ and on-demand chemical production. Naturally, the functionality and performance of any of the aforementioned applications is directly related to the reliability and quality of the control logic used.
One type of control logic that may be used for SoC applications is Model Predictive Control (MPC). MPC is an established control technique that has been used in the chemical process industry. The ability of MPC to handle Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems and to take into account constraints and disturbances explicitly has increased the interest in using MPC for a wider range of applications outside the process industry. However, it has been difficult to implement MPC in portable and SoC devices because MPC is a computationally expensive control algorithm that involves the solution of an optimization problem at every time step.
Intended advantages of the disclosed systems and/or methods satisfy one or more of these needs or provide other advantageous features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments that fall within the scope of the claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.